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by toritat



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, China Line - Freeform, Depictions of Violence (not graphic), Drabble, Jun-Centric, Light Angst, M/M, Minor Character Death (unnamed character)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-11
Updated: 2015-11-11
Packaged: 2018-05-01 02:00:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5187884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toritat/pseuds/toritat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It took three years, but they found each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





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**Author's Note:**

> thank you to my lovely best friend [ peachteaharry ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/peachteaharry) for beta'ing!

A year after the dead started reanimating, Jun lost Minghao.  
  
A week had passed since the group made camp in the small section of the woods. After one of the members caught a fever and wasn't able to go on, the leader, Seungcheol, decided to plant them where they stood right in the middle of the woods, allowing time for the boy to heal. Staying in one place for too long made Jun feel uneasy, but he couldn't tell them to leave the sick boy behind and get a move on. The duo had only joined the crew a few weeks prior, offering all of their food in exchange for shelter and medical supplies.  
  
Jun had been on edge since they set up their camp. At night, the brunet would voice his worries at a hushed volume as Minghao gently ran his hands through Jun's hair, promising it would all be okay. Jun knew the younger was only saying this to calm his nerves. He could see the worry in Minghao's eyes as well.   
  
When he ventured out to grab firewood, he left Minghao behind, leaving him to catch up on some much needed sleep. He would grow to resent that action, constantly pulling at his hair when thinking of different  _what if's?_  
  
He knew the shrill scream that followed shortly after the gunshot didn't belong to Minghao, but the second it pierced through the silence, Jun found himself sprinting back towards the shelter.  
  
Jun could still remember the feeling of the arm wrapping around his chest, and the cold point of the blade against his neck. He tried to think of ways to fight back, gain any kind of leverage on the other, but it simply wasn't possible. He had no choice but to let himself be dragged to the scene.   
  
His eyes frantically darted around the campground, praying to whatever higher power existed that it wasn't him. The brunet was pushed to the ground beside a few others he recognized from his group, but no Minghao. The boy on the ground was no longer moving, and Jun felt his stomach lurch as he realized he didn't even know his name. Jun had never gotten to know the others very well -- he was only concerned about Minghao and getting on the leader's good side. When Jun's eyes met the Seungcheol's, he gave a careful nod and mouthed the words he got away. As relieving as it was to know, Jun was still filled with worry.  
  
With hands tied behind their backs, the remaining members of the group listened carefully to the bandits who raided their camp. They wanted supplies and food, and they weren't going to leave without it. Seungcheol managed to bargain with the bandits, offering all of the team's supplies (including from their other campsites nearby) if nobody else came to harm. Jun could tell that the decision took a toll on the leader, but it was either 'live and lose all of the supplies', or 'die and lose all of the supplies anyway'.   
  
They walked for miles after they escaped the thieves, putting as much distance as they could between them. Jun's eyes were constantly searching for any signs of the blonde while they were at it. Seungcheol assured the group that he reminded the others that escaped before the mess to meet them at their safe spot by the railroad, in a spot where all of the members who were in the group longer than Minghao and Jun would know.  
  
They reached the tracks at dawn. One of the younger members was the first to notice the bloody strip of jacket caught on the fence next to the rails. Any hope that Jun felt beforehand was gone, replaced with a sinking feeling in his stomach. There was no doubt it was Minghao's jacket.   
  
The four of them stayed for the rest of that day, and as they settled down to sleep that night, Seungcheol tells them that they're leaving in the morning. Everyone's faces fell at this, but they understood that they couldn't wait around any longer or else they would get hurt as well. Jun stayed silent through the speech, his mind whirring through all of the possible scenarios that Minghao could have gone through. Once the two youngest in the group fell asleep, Seungcheol beckoned the brunet over to him with a hand.  
  
"Take it," The leader said as he placed the gun into Jun's hands. "I can tell you don't want to stay. Go find him. You'll need this."   
  
Jun gave a small thank you, staring close at the gun. After one last look at what was left of his group, he was on his own.  
   
***  
  
Four years after the dead started reanimating, the government made the announcement that the cure existed.   
  
Jun knew that it would be impossible for anything to back to normal. Four years had taken its toll on the world. Not only had buildings decayed, a huge sum of the population was infected or already dead. They announced that an agent would be released into the air, killing any of the infected still roaming. There would be no way to bring loved ones back from the dead, but they would try their best to keep the infection from spreading.  
  
When Jun first heard the announcement, he called bullshit. It had been months, maybe even a year, since the last time the government tried to make a broadcast. He had no reason to believe that the voice wasn't just another killer, reeling in his next victims. He didn't believe the voice coming from his radio until a few days later when he saw the zombie in front of him drop to the ground, no longer moving or groaning. A mist circled around him, weaving through the trees. Everything was silent, not even the birds daring to flutter their wings.  
  
The mist stayed in the air for a week. Jun was constantly on edge, expecting to turn and find an infected, but the only ones he saw were lying motionless on the ground. After the seven days passed, the air began to clear and Jun could see past the line of trees once again. The voice on the radio told all of the survivors to get to the major cities, there would be help waiting. After a night of contemplation, Jun began his journey back to the place he used to call home.  
  
It took him two weeks to reach the town square, where he nearly collapsed the second he saw the amount of people gathered around. Hands gripped his arms, catching him before he could fall. He couldn't remember much of what happened, too sleep deprived and starving to comprehend what was being said and done.   
  
A few hours later, he was booted out of the tent in order to make room for those who needed urgent care. He was no longer dizzy, but his mind still felt foggy. He was overwhelmed by the amount of noise and people, not to mention the stares he was getting. Looking down at himself, he realized just how dirty he looked with ripped clothes and blood caked on his jeans. Self-consciously pulling the blanket he was given tighter around his shoulders, he wandered to the other tents, not speaking a single word. New clothes were shoved toward him as he was directed to the showers. The two minute limit wasn't nearly enough time, but it was better than nothing.   
  
The people in charge of the tents pushed a backpack toward him, muttering something about visiting a nearby shelter. Jun elected to ignore this, deciding that leaving for his old house sounded better.  
   
Thinking back, Jun didn't know what he was expecting to find of the old house he shared with his best friend. Maybe broken windows, glass shards spread throughout the floor. Maybe broken picture frames, the table thrown against the wall. Maybe even a body of a stranger, decaying in his living room.  
  
Instead, he's met with intact windows, not a single crooked picture frame, and the table sat neatly in the corner, as if he never left. He feels like he shouldn't be in here, not with his filthy clothes and muddy shoes. It felt like he was invading a stranger's home, and he was debating whether or not he should just pretend like he never came when he saw the bracelet sitting on the counter. It was poorly done, the weaving uneven and the colors all wrong. But Jun remembered making the bracelet. Jun remembered late nights, waiting for the other to fall asleep so he could continue working on weaving all the strings together. Jun remembered the look on Minghao's face, confusion mixed with a hint of laughter, as he inspected the material the day it was given to him. Jun remembered the arms that wrapped around his neck as the younger whispered out a thank you, feeling so grateful for the small gesture.  
  
Jun's arm shot out, reaching for the bracelet as if it could fade from existence if he left it on the counter. Holding it close to his chest, he tried to catch his breath as the feeling of just how much he missed the younger boy caught up with him. Three years was too long, three years without knowing if he was okay, if he was suffering, if he --   
  
Jun's thoughts were interrupted by a short cough. Lifting his head up, his eyes flicked toward the sound. Big brown eyes stared back at him, and Jun knew he had found his home.

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by a post that read "being reunited after surviving the zombie apocalypse, unknowing if the other was alive or dead AU", but I put a bit of a twist on it and ended up with this. This may be crossposted on AFF in the future if I ever figure out how to work the website, but for now, it's only here!
> 
> It's been about a year since I've written anything, so if you have any criticisms or mistakes to point out, please let me know!


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